CAT 2008 Cut Offs - Overall & Sectional Cut-Offs

Expected Sectional Cut Offs for CAT 2008

Quant Section - Likely Cut Off: 33-34
Verbal Section - Likely Cut Off: 47-48
DI Section - Likely Cut Off: 29-30

Overall Cut Off for CAT 2008

You can expect an IIM call at a cut-off point of 125 or more, provided you also meet the sectional cut-offs. CAT 2008 candidates with a good academic + work-ex background can expect calls at slightly lower scores in the CAT.

* These are only predicted scores, and the actual cut offs as decided by the individual IIMs may differ, though unlikely to differ by a great margin.

Last Minute Tips for CAT 2008

All ready for the big day? CAT 2008 is less than 72 hours away, and with so much at stake, and the immense competition to face, you might fancy this handy tips - nothing great or earth-shattering about them, but helpful nonetheless.

1. Tell yourself that you can always write CAT 2009 or GMAT or that there is XAT 2009 to follow - it will reduce the pressure, the last thing you want to do is to crumble because of the sheer pressure that you exert upon yourself.

2. If there are sudden surprises, don't panic - Remember that the changes are not for you alone, each one of the about 3 lakh students writing the CAT 2008 will face the same changes. The few thousand who will cope best with the sudden challenges will be the ones getting the calls from the IIMs - give yourself a minute to think over, don't rush into things - plan it out.

[ Note: If there are sudden changes or the paper is abnormally tough, the IIM cut-off as well as other b-school cut-offs are likely to dip. ]

3. If you have been employing a certain way of going about handling the Mock CATs for the last few months and that way has been working for you, don't give up on it suddenly. What has worked for a few months and many times over should work today as well.

4. If you are from an English-medium/convent background, or have been good at English otherwise, listen to your gut-feel in 'Verbal/RC'. Don't forget that you have been a student of the language for over 14-15 years now, and chances are that your 'gut is giving you the right feeling'.

Don't overdo Point no.4 or if you are happy ignoring this point, that is okay.

5. No one knows the cut-off while writing the CAT. The previous cut-off are at best an indicator, which may or may not mean anything. So don't keep chasing an 'unknown' number. Therefore -

"Read the Instructions Carefully" - If it says like it always does, then allott approximately equal time to all sections. If there are some major or minor changes in the instructions, give yourself a minute or two to formulate a plan to go about writing the CAT 2008. Believe me, it will be a minute worth spend.

All the very best,

MICA Admission Cut Offs | CAT 2008 | GMAT

For years it has been a suspense as to what the cut off for Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA) is - whether it's 80 percentile or 85 or 95? God knows how many times I have been queried about the sectional cut-off requirement for MICA. "Does MICA only check your Verbal Score?", somebody would ask. Yet others wondered if MICA had any sectional cut-off in the CAT for quant or DI or not. The suspsense is now over, and officially so.

MICA CAT Cut Off for Admission to the 2009 - 2011 PGDCM batch

MICA will shortlist candidates for the MICAT, Group Exercise (MICA holds GE instead of a GD) and the Personal Interview on the basis of their performance in the Common Admission Test ( CAT 2008 ) - Overall CAT 2008 Percentile cut off will be 90 and they will need a minimum sectional cut offs of 50 percentiles in both Quant and DI sections in the CAT. In the Verbal (VA) section that comprises Grammar, Language and Reading Comprehension, MICA aspirants will need to clear a minimum cut-off level of 60 percentile.

MICA GMAT Cut Off for Admission to the 2009 - 2011 PGDCM batch

A minimum GMAT score of 600 obtained on or after 1st January 2007

MICA aspirants can hence write either the CAT 2008 or the GMAT to get a call for the second round of the admission procedure. Unlike last year, MICA has removed XAT from its list of written test options.

Another Change in MICA Admission Process:

Unlike the previous years when all shortlisted candidates were called for the MICAT, Group Exercise/GD and Personal Interview, the 2009 - 11 admission process will be 3-stepped. Candidates shortlisted from CAT 2008 and GMAT will first write the MICAT, and only the candidates further shortlisted will be called for the Group Exercise and Personal Interview.

IIM CAT 2008: Number of Applicants Up by 25%

You may not yet have realized that the downturn in the US economy may have a more direct bearing on you - it reduces your chances of making it to the IIMs. With the number of jobs in the markets drying up, the beeline at the B Schools has increased tremendously.

Compared to the 2,30,000 applications received in CAT (Common Admission Test) 2007, the number of applications for the 2009-11 sessions have increased by a whopping 60,000 to reach to a figure just under 3 lakhs. Last year, there was at least one new IIM in the form of Shillong to cheer things up.

In terms of mathematical probability, an IIM aspirant this year stands a meagre chance of about 0.6 % of making it to one of the seven IIMs (including the Rajiv Gandhi IIM Shillong and the additional increase of about 200 seats across the various IIMs). Delhi has now firmly established itself as the MBA Entrance hub of the country; IIM Lucknow which receives applications from Delhi candidates has been flooded with over 62,000 applications.

CAT Year	No. of Applications
2009	2.9 Lakhs
2008	2.3 Lakhs
2007	1.9 Lakhs

However there are about 15,000 seats on offer at the many non-IIM b schools that accept CAT scores. Only a handful of them - MDI, MICA and a few more are any good and not much can be said about the others.
For a list of the non-IIM b-schools that are accepting CAT scores, you can click here.

It will be interesting to watch this trend next year if the Common Admission Test does indeed go online.

List of non-IIM B-Schools accepting CAT 2008 scores - II

For the List 1 of non IIM B-Schools accepting CAT 2008 scores, click here.

19.Delhi School of Professional Studies & Research
9, Institutional Area
Sector-25, Rohini
Delhi – 110085
Phone: 011-27062290

20.Department of Business Management
Punjab Agricultural University
Ludhiana – 141004
Phone: 0161-2401960-79

( The Punjab Agricultural University offers an MBA in Agri Business Management. Established in 1962, the University campus is spread across 580 hectares, and the no. of faculty members exceed 800 in number. Source: official website of the University)

21.Department of Management Studies
Indian School of Mines University (ISM Dhanbad)
Dhanbad – 826004
Phone: 0326-2296631

22.Dr.GaurHari Singhania institute of Management & Research
Jaykaylon colony
Kamla Nagar
Kanpur – 208005
Phone: 0512-2231417, 2232444

23.Department of Business Management
University of Calcutta
1, Reformatory street
Kolkata – 700027
Phone: 033-24499418

24. Department of Commerce, University of Calcutta
87/1, College Street
Kolkata – 700073
Phone: 033-22410071-74

25. Department of Management Studies,
Pondicherry University
R V Nagar
Puducherry – 605014
Phone: 0413-2655244

26.EMPI Business School
P.O CSKM Educational Complex
Satbari, Chattarpur
New Delhi – 110074
Phone: 011-26654422

27. EMPI’s Ajot Haksar Institute of Advertising, Communication & Marketing (AdCoM)
P.O CSKM Educational Complex
Satbari, Chattarpur
New Delhi – 10074
Phone: 011-26652373/2375/3927

28.Enterpreneurship Development Institute of India
Near Village Bhat
Via Ahmedabad Airport & Indira Bridge, Bhat P.O.
Gandhinagar – 382428
Phone: 079-23969163

29. Faculty of Management Studies
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi – 221005
Phone: 0542-2307430/31

( The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) was established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in 1916 and has for years been one of India's premier seat of learning.

The students to MBA/MIBA programmes at BHU are admitted through CAT conducted by the IIMs. Taking cognizance of its expertise and deep commitment to learning, the Faculty has been identified as one of the five Quality Improvement Programme Centres by the AICTE for developing and updating the teachers of management institutions of the country. )

30.Fortune Institute of International Business
Plot No. 5, Vasant Gaon
Opp. Army R R Hispital, Rao Tula Ram Marg
New Delhi – 110057
Phone: 011-26144319-20

31.Fore School of Management
B-18, Qutab Institutional Area
New Delhi – 110016
Phone: 011-41242424/26863396

32.Galgotias Business school
1, Knowledge Park, Phase II
Greater Noida – 201306
Phone: 0120-3272004, 3256832

33.Globsyn Business School
XI – 11 & 12, Block–EP
Sector-V, Salt Lake Electronics Complex
Kolkata – 700091
Phone: 033-40003600, 23573610-12

34.Graduate School of Business & Administration
Plot No-HS-02, Block-F
Sector Alpha-02
Greater Noida (NCR) – 201308
Phone: 0120-2320521-524

35.Haryana School of Business
Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology
Hisar – 125001
Phone: 01662-263111/263182

36.IFIM Business School
No.8P & 9P, KIADB Industrial Area
Electronics City, I Phase
Bangalote – 560100
Phone: 080-41432888

37.IILM Institute for Higher Education
DLF Golf Course Road, Opp. Suncity
Gurgaon
Phone: 0124-4559300

38.Indian Business Academy
Lakshmipura, Thataguni Post
Kanakapura Main Road
Bangalore – 560062
Phone: 080-32961373

39.Indian Institute of Forest Management
Post Box No. 357
Nehru Nagar
Bhopal – 462003
Phone: 0755-2775716/2773799

40.IEC Business School
Plot No.4, K.P-1
Greater Noida
Phone: 0120-2326537, 2326665

41.IILM Graduate School of Management
16, Knowledge Park-II
Greater Noida – 201306
Phone: 0120-4029318/4029300

42.IMRT Business School
Management Park, Vipul Khand-6
Gomti Nagar
Lucknow – 226010
Phone: 0522-4066823,3206771

43.Indian Institute of Finance
Post Box 8486
Ashok Vihar-II
Delhi – 110052
Phone: 011-27451212

44.Indian Institute of Information Technology
Deoghat, Jhalwa
Allahabad – 211012
Phone: 0532-2430006, 0539-2922178

45.Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
Management House
College Square (West)
Kolkata – 700073
Phone: 033-22191684/22418694

46.Institute of Engineering & Management
Salt Lake Electronics Complex
Calcutta – 700091
Phone: 033-23578189/8908

47.Institute of Management Development & Research
DES Campus
Deccan Gymkhana
Pune – 411004
Phone: 020-25653186/25652754

48.Institute of Management Sciences
University of Lucknow
Lucknow – 226021
Phone: 0522-2740412, 2741012

49.Institute of Management Technology-Nagpur
35 KM Milestone, Mouza Dorli
Katol Road
Nagpur – 441502
Phone: 0712-2805591

50.Institute of public Enterprise
Osmania University Campus
Hyderabad – 500007
Phone: 040-27098060

51.Integrated Academy of Management and Technology
(INMANTEC)
Adhyatmik Nagar, Delhi-Lucknow Highway (NH-24)
Udyog Kunj
Ghaziabad – 201009
Phone: 0120-2768951

52.Institute of Agri Business management
Rajasthan Agricultural University
Beechwal
Bikaner – 334006
Phone: 0151-2252981/82

53.Institute of Management
Nirma University of Science & Technology
S-G Highway
Ahmedabad – 382481
Phone: 02717-241900/01/02/04

54.Insitute of Management Education
G.T Road, Sahibabad
Ghaziabad – 201005
Phone: 0120-2621424

55.Institute of Management Technology
A-16, Site-3, UPSIDC
Industrial Area, Meerut Road
Ghaziabad – 201003
Phone: 0120-2705628

56.Institute of Petroleum Management, Gandhinagar
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Raisan
Gandhinagar – 382007
Phone: 079-23276911-14

57.INRECH Institute of Business Management
960, 24^th Main, 38^th Cross
4^th ‘T’ Block, Jayanagar
Bangalore – 560041
Phone: 080-

58.International Institute for Special Education
Kanchana Bihari Marg
Off Ring Road, Via Kalyanpur
Lucknow – 226022
Phone: 0522-2751066

59.International Management Institute (IMI Delhi)
B-10, 30 & 31, Qutab Institutional Area
Tara Crescent
New Delhi – 110016
Phone: 011-26529240

60.International School of Management Excellence
CAP-1, Export Promotion Industrial Park
Near ITPL, Whitefield
Bangalore – 560066
Phone: 080-65606200/6300

61.ITM Business School
Plot 25 & 26, Sector-4
Kharghar
Navi Mumbai – 410210
Phone: 022-27742793/98

62.International School of Business & Research
(ISBR Business School)
No.62, Electronics City, Phase-I
Opp. Electronics city Post office
Bangalore – 560100
Phone: 080-41668111/222

63.Invertis Institute of Management Studies
Invertis Village
Bareilly – Lucknow National Highway-24
Bareilly – 243123
Phone: 0581-2460442/443

64.Jaipuria Institute of Management
Vineet Khand
Gomtinagar
Lucknow – 226010
Phone: 0522-2394296/2398096

65.Jaipuria Institute of Management
1 Bambala Institutional Area
Pratap Nagar, Sanganer
Jaipur – 302033
Phone: 0141-2771330-33

66.Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS Rohini)
3, Institutional Area
Sector-5, Rohini
Delhi – 110085
Phone: 011-27042284, 27042296

67.Jaipuria Institute of Management
Plot No. A-32A
Sector-62
Noida – 201307
Phone: 0120-2403850-54, 2403379-81

68.JK Padampat Singhania Institute of Management & Technology
Damdama Lake Road
Bhondsi Village, Tehsil: Sohna
Dist: Gurgaon
Phone: 0124-4268031,4267641

69.KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research
Vidyanagar
Mumbai-400077
Phone: 022-66449300/66449350

70.Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies
Yantrapur
Harihar – 577602
Phone: 08192-241269/241483

71.K R Mangalam Global Institute of Management
S-Block, Greater Kailash-II
New Delhi – 110048
Phone: 011-29219274/9810534726

72.Kohinoor Business School & Centre for Management Research
Old Pune – Mumbai Highway
Khandala
Pune – 410301
Phone: 02114-269230

73.Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management
Shastri Sadan, Sector-III
R.K. Puram
New Delhi – 110022
Phone: 011-26191081/26172407

74.Lotus Institute of Management
16 KM Stone, Bareilly-Lucknow Road
P.O. Rajau
Bareilly – 243123
Phone: 05821-231364

75.Lal Bahadur Shasti Institute of Management & Technology
29, Theatre Road
Cantonment
Bareilly – 243001
Phone: 0581-2429203/205

76.Lovely Professional University
Jalandhar-Ludhiana G.T.Road
Near Chaheru Railway Bridge
Phagwara – 144402
Phone: 01824-500701

77.Management Development Institute (MDI Gurgaon)
Post Box No. 60, Mehrauli Road
Sukhrali
Gurgaon – 122001
Phone: 0124-4560800/4013050-61

78.National Institute of Bank Management
NIBM Post Offfice
Kondhwe Khurd
Pune – 411048
Phone: 020-26831584

79.National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT Calicut)
NIT Campus P.O..
Calicut – 673601
Phone: 0495-2286100

80.National Power Training Institute (NPTI Faridabad)
NPTI Complex
Sector-33
Faridabad-121003
Phone: 0129-2275448

81.Nanyang Business School
Nanyang Techonlogical University
Nanyang Avenue
Singapore – 639798
Phone: (65) 67905622

(Nanyang Singapore, one of Asia's finest B-Schools, is accepting CAT 2008 scores for admission to its MBA programme)

82.National Institute of Technology (NIT)
Thiruchirappalli – 620215
Phone: 0431-2503001

83.National Insurance Academy
Balewadi, Baner Road
NIA P.O.
Pune – 411045
Phone: 020-27204000/4444

84.New Delhi Institute of Management
60-61, Tughlakabad Institutional area
New Delhi – 110062
Phone: 011-29956566-68

85.Pearl School of Business
46, Institutional Area
S 32
Gurgaon – 122001
Phone: 0124-427500

86.Proton Business School
Narayan Kothi
Race Course Road
Indore – 452003
Phone: 0731-3245424, 3245425

87.S D M Institute for Management Development
No.1, Chamundi Hill Road
Siddarthanagar Post
Mysore – 570011
Phone: 0821-2429722/9161

88.S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR)
Munshi Nagar, Dadabhai Road
Andheri (West)
Mumbai – 400058
Phone: 022-26237454

89.School of Management Science
Khushipur
P.O. Bachhaon
Varanasi – 221011
Phone: 0542-2271771, 3259266

90.Shobhit University
NH – 58
Modipuram
Meerut – 250110
Phone: 0121-2575091/92

91.Sri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Karyal
Post Office: Katra
Katra (Jammu & Kashmir) – 182301
Phone: 01991-285687/285524

92.School of Management Studies (SMS)
University of Hyderabad
P.O. Central University
Hyderabad – 500046
Phone: 040-23135000/23011091

93.Shri Ramswaroop Memorial College of Engineering and Management
Tewariganj
Faizabad Road
Lucknow – 227105
Phone: 0522-2815015-16

94.Suryadatta Group of Institutes
2074, Sadashiv Peth
Vijayanagar Colony
Pune – 411030
Phone: 020-24336000/24330425/35

95.T.A. Pai Management Institute (populary referred to as TAPMI)
Manipal – 576104
Phone: 0820-2570361/2571358

96.Thiagarajar School of Management
Pamban Swamy Nagar
Thirupparankundram
Phone: 0452-2484099

97.The Business School
University of Jammu
Jammu – 180006
(Jammu & Kashmir)
Phone: 0191-2430133, 2435529

98.University Business School
Panjab University
Chandigarh – 160014
Phone: 0172-2541591/2534709

99.University School of Management
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra – 136119
Phone: 01744-238565

100.University of Petroleum & Energy Studies
SCO 9-12, Sector-14
Near HUDA Office
Gurgaon – 122007
Phone: 0124-4240300

101.Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management
Vignana Jyothi Nagar
Bachpally, Via Kukatpally
Hyderabad – 500072
Phone: 040-23044901/23044902
Fax: 040-23044953

102.VIT Business School
VIT Universtiy
Vellore – 632014
Phone: 0416-2202157/2125
Fax: 0416-2245544

Note:
That a B-School accepts CAT scores admission to its MBA/Other PG Programmes is not an indicator of the quality of the B-School. Please check with other reliable sources before applying to any B-School.

CAT 2008 notification

The IIMs have released the notification for this year's Common Admission Test (IIM-CAT) to the IIMs, which also serves as the entrance test for quite a few other reputed business schools. Notable among these are Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), Nanyang Business School (Singapore), MDI (Gurgaon), SP Jain (Mumbai) and Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) (Bhopal).

These are some of the important dates relating to the application process.

Issue of CAT Bulletins at Axis Bank starts : JULY 14 (Monday)

Issue of CAT Bulletins at Axis Bank ends : AUGUST 8 (Friday)

Issue of CAT Bulletins by the IIMs ends : AUGUST (Wednesday)

Last date for receipt of completed CAT Applications by the IIMs : SEPTEMBER 5 (Friday)

COMMON ADMISSION TEST : NOVEMBER 16, 2008 (Sunday)

Preparing for CAT 2008?

It has been quite a while since I wrote a general post for students planning to write CAT 2008 or any of the other MBA Entrance tests towards the end of the end of this year or in the beginning of 2009. Now that November 2008 is just six months away, it's time to take stock of your preparation.

Have you taken your first MockCAT for CAT 2008? (or SimCAT or AimCAT or CopyCAT, whichever be your preference) What was your score like? More than the absolute score, what was your percentile score like?

But even before you start gloating over your 99th percentile or feeling saddened that in the rat race called CAT 2008, you are left far behind with your 60th percentile, think things over in the overall perspective.

When did you start preparing for CAT 2008 seriously? May 2008, November 2007 or January'08 ? You surely can't compare apples with oranges, can you? If you started your preparation in early 2008, then you surely had a headstart over quite a few other competitors and they will soon be better geared to give you a tougher fight in the next mock-cat. So, stay happy, but don't get over-confident. Similarly if you started your preparation as late as May 2008, then don't worry if you haven't fared as well in the mock cat. Afterall, you are still on with your quant and verbal fundamentals, and by the time the second mock cat arrives, things will have changed drastically. You can now attempt that permutation and combination question, which you couldn't last time, simply because you know now the formula!

Now, for them, who started early, yet are lagging behind now. Surely, you can't give up on your hopes. Not so early, dear. Maybe you won't make it to the IIMs, but I won't be so sure, not just yet. What you need to do is stop, and spend time understanding what went wrong.

1) Re-open the Mock CAT paper, alongwith the answer key. Group your responses under these heads - did not attempt, attempted and got right, attempted and got wrong. Now, try and see if you can form some clusters. For instance, did you get a bunch of RC questions wrong? Or did you not attempt all quant questions of a certain type?

If that is the case, then all you need to do is go back to the fundamentals in this areas, study hard, and take another Mock 10 days from now. But before that, I'd suggest you should take sectional tests for those areas.

2) Where did the Mock CAT go wrong for you? Did you make too many mistakes, or was it simply a question of not attempting enough questions?

3) Did you attempt too many RCs? ( for instance 7 questions from 3 RCs, out of the total 10 on offer) - See, there are no hard and fast rules here: but if a certain approach is not working for you, you need to re-think, that's all. If you still think that this was the best approach, great. Now get the answers right. Somehow!!

Now you know the line of thinking - every once in a while, spend time analyzing. The CAT is a thinking manager's test. It's not a test of quant or verbal only. Remember you are not applying for a M.Sc in Mathematics or a MA in English. It's actually the MBA - and it's all about managing it well. Maths and English are mere tools.

The Mock CAT Battle

It's crazy, and outright shocking the way the various CAT coaching institutes misguide students to achieve their own commercial ends. I was associated with IMS Learning Resources, the oldest coaching institute for CAT in the country, for close t0 3 years - during this period and before it IMS offered 8 SIMCATs (the IMS mock CAT) for students getting ready for the CAT and other MBA Entrance Tests. While other coaching institutes were offering more and more Mock CATs with an idea to lure away students from the competition, I was proud that my organisation stuck to its guns because as an organisation we believed that 8 mocks were sufficient for a student preparing for CAT. The counselors had a tough time explaining the logic as it is far easier to sell "more than less". But we were doing a fair job, though we could see that our competitors were gaining strength because they were offering 'more for less' and gullible students (read customers) were being misguided into taking the wrong decision.

The logic behind 8 SIMCATs was simple - a Mock CAT has certain objectives:

1) to find out where do you stand vis-a-vis other CAT takers (so the overall percentiles and the sectional percentiles are important)

2) to help you find and assess your strong and weak areas so that you can correct/balance your further study plan accordingly

3) to gauge your progress as you move towards the CAT day, expose students to various likely papers/patterns and improve his Test Taking Techniques.

4) and as a result of point 3 above, you get a fair idea of which b-schools you stand a chance of getting into and can thus apply accordingly.

and most importantly:

5) we insisted on 8 SIMCATs and no more because we wanted students to get time to assess his performance, work on it and gradually improve his performance over the 8 tests.

What is funny is that the above logic was perfect and IMS was producing results year after year, yet now they have taken a complete about turn. I just checked out the IMS website and was horrified that they have not just increased the number of SIMCATs for CAT 2008, but actually gone ahead and doubled it. The new SIMCAT package for CAT 2008 has its selling line saying (and read this and see the irony of it all): "The 1st commandment of CAT Prep comes back with double the strength and double the power..but at the same price.." Sham, Shame!

But the biggest culprit is still not IMS. That i would think are the other 2 biggies in the CAT Coaching arena - Career Launcher and TIME. This trend of more and more Mock CATs has been shamelessly advocated by TIME for years - and what's more they sell it for a bargain price so that students enrolled with other coaching institutes also enrol with them for their Mock CATs. ( It's called AIM CAT, but the students never knew what the real aim was!!) Their objective was to get more and more students so that they had a larger number of IIM seats that were filled up by TIME to claim. That has been their chief marketing ploy for years now. They now even shamelessly claim that they send the largest number of students to the IIMs, compared to even IMS. What an utter distortion of truth!! ( and their marketing managers are stupid enough to believe that someone outside Hyderabad or Secunderabad would even believe this crap, they have now gone ahead and got this distortion of truth approved by KPMG) - yeah and don't forget what their tagline claims: No.1 institute in India. My IMS office was in Barakhamba and every time we passed their centre in CP, we used to have a hearty laugh - "forget India, they are not even no.1 in Connaught Place, and yes not even no.2". ( To understand how TIME sends the largest number of students to the IIMs, i strongly recommend you to first brush up your fundas on Set Theory - else ask me, i would love to explain further!)

And let me say a few nice words about Career Launcher too - the trendiest and the most youthful of the lot, they started off well, with noble intentions maybe. I was one of the earlier CL students, and the quality then was not great, but not too bad either - with the founders themselves playing teachers way back then. But if one organisation is to be blamed for dirtying the CAT Coaching atmosphere, this honour has to go to CL. They are out and out commercial, playing every game - right or wrong to increase their numbers. Every month they have a "fee incentive ending soon" campaign!! If you have ever gone there for an enquiry and left your number behind, they will keep calling you till you have enrolled with them or till you ask them to buzz off saying what hurts them more than the choicest four-letter word: "I have joined IMS".

I am a marketing man myself and have nothing against people trying to promote their product/service - afterall that's how i have been earning my bread this last 7 years. But blatant lies and misguiding your customers - that's not fair, and not right. What's more, it's not required. There is a right way of going about it, and it ain't that difficult either.

Great News for CAT Aspirants in Delhi

If you are readying yourself for CAT 2008, chances are you are already a regular visitor of http://www.totalgadha.com/ - just in case you are not, don't delay any further. It is the only online study place for CAT and a fine one at that. Check for yourself the quality of the lessons, articles and quizzes.

Now for the big news - these guys have opened their first centre in the New Delhi and have already 4 batches running. Known by the name of Tathagat, the first centre is at Kailash Colony (GK-1) and next week they are opening their second centre in Connaught Place. The first batch in Connaught Place starts 26th April and enrolments are open. For more information you can contact 9999658139 or 9891147846.

I have been a great fan of the website myself and was myself associated with it for a good part of last year. You must check out some of the articles yourself. You may start with this article on the Study Plan for CAT 2008 . ( I think login is required for this page so you will have to register but it takes less than a minute so that should be okay)

Tathagat has kept its fee on the slightly higher side (Rs.30,000) - market leaders IMS and CL are priced in between Rs.25,000 and Rs.28,000. But the quality of the material and the faculty justifies the price. For verbal they have two of Delhi's best English teachers for CAT including Kumar Abhishek, who had a long and successul stint with Career Launcher. As for Quant, it is being handled by Sanjeev Singh - the chief architect behind TG and the head of the content development team for totalgadha.com . Need i say more?!

Conclusion: Tathagat is Highly Recommended.

List of B-Schools which accept CAT Score

If you will write the CAT 2007 or the CAT 2008, my best wishes are with you - i hope that you make it to one of the IIMs. But if you don't make it to an IIM don't blame yourself much - the fact is the odds are stacked against the brightest of students. Almost 2,00,000 students write the CAT every year - chances are that figure may swell upto 2.5 lakhs in CAT 2008. The total number of seats offered by the IIMs is fewer than 3000 which means only 1% of the students can expect it to make it to India's best b-school. And it's nobody's case that 99% of the students writing the CAT every year don't deserve a seat in a good b-school.

Here's a list of other Business Schools/Institutes which accept CAT scores for admission.

1. Academy of Management Studies, Bhubaneshwar

2. Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore

3. Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore

4. Apeejay School of Management, New Delhi

5. Aravali Institute of Management, Jodhpur

6. Army Institute of Management, Kolkata

7. Army Institute of Management & Technology, Greater Noida

8. Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneshwar

9. Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi

10. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Information Technology & Management, Gwalior

11. Bhartidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirappali

12. Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida

13. Centre for Management Training & Research, Kharar, Mohali

( this list will be added to regularly till we have a more comprehensive list)

Is your target called "CAT 2008"?

Of all the problems faced by you and your rivals preparing for CAT 2008 the one that is the most illogically problematic is this: Is it too early to start studying for the CAT that will only happen in November 2008, much more than a year away? There will be the smart-alecs in your college who will try and run you down - tell you that the CAT is no more than a 3-4 month game, that you are being foolishly 'book-wormish'!! I have just one bit of advice for you to give to this mates of yours: BUZZ OFF. ( and it is for the sake of decorum that i have replaced one of the words in that 2-word advise!)

Only one person should decide when you should begin preparations for things in your life: whether it's marriage, life-insurance plan, raising kids, or even the small matter of CAT 2008!! So if you think that you need to start early, congratulations on your decision. Now stop bothering yourself about the wisdom of that decision - don't seek any advice from anyone - not from those idiots at college, nor from the bigger ones at the coaching institutes! Just go get yourself a study plan for the 14 months ahead and BEGIN: we will look at the 'study-plan' bit in the next post, so do come back soon. Cheers!

Tackling the MOCK CAT 2007

It's that time of the year again, when CAT aspirants get ready to start tackling the battery of CAT-like tests administered by various coaching institutes across the country. For those of you preparing for CAT 2007 or XAT 2008 or any of the many other MBA Entrance Tests, here go a few suggestions:

1. These tests are important no doubt - whether you are taking at a centre or at home from your study material, but be careful. These tests are just that - tests. A test is supposed to help you evaluate where you stand, you get an idea of the yields of your preparation efforts and it also helps you identify your strengths & weaknesses. Once these objectives have been achieved, please move on ahead. Get back to your books and work on the deficiencies. Don't keep taking tests after tests. ( A maximum of 2 a week, i'd think )

2. Should you find after Test 1 that there are too many areas that you have no clue about, then the test has served its job. Go back to your basic material/fundamental books , Part 1 or Part A or whatever else you were using - immediately. Forget all about tests. First get your basics in place, because if that ain't there, even God may not be able to help you - so what can a test do?

3. Do spend some time evaluating your efforts, once you get the results. That's where the value of the test lies - remember these tests are only mock, so they are but stepping stones to the real thing.

4. While you will obviously work on your deficiencies, don't forget the strength areas completely. Keep doing a few questions from them from time to time and be in touch with them. Giving any topic a 2-3 month break is never a good idea.

5. Chill. It can do wonders!

Preparing for CAT 2007: Reading Comprehension section

I have always found the Reading Comprehension (RC) section the most intriguing of the various sections in the CAT and other MBA Entrance Test. Now, here are a number of questions, where the answers lie right in front of your eyes. Yet, the RC section troubles those preparing for CAT like nothing else.

If there is one area of the CAT, for which the faculty, students and other experts (not excluding the idiots at the various top coaching institutes) have devised the maximum number of tips and strategies, it’s this R.C. section. 30 CATs have gone by, and CAT 2007 is just a few months away. Another new CAT, yet the same old question still lingers in every student’s mind – What’s the best strategy for the Reading Comprehension section?

I think the answer to this conundrum lies in the fact that it’s still an unsolved mystery – if after so many years, there is still no well-defined answer to this question, then chances are there is no well-defined answer. Just because the experts are supposed to give you an answer, they do.

Then, what should a CAT writer do in the Reading Comprehension section? My suggestion is – don’t listen to anyone, or if you do, don’t agree to anyone. Hear them all out, if you must – but find your own answers through your own experiments.

If there are 5 passsages with 5 questions each, try all these RC strategies and see what works for you.
·

- Do them as quickly as possible, and try and answer as many questions as possible. Objective of RC Strategy No.1: Maximize attempts.

- Do the passages as quickly as possible, and answer the questions which you are sure of /easies ones. Objective of RC Strategy No.2: Maximize passage and question scanning but filtered attempts.

- Scan passages and do the 2 or 3 that you like. Objective of RC Strategy No.3: Filtered attempts

So, while RC Strategy 1 will work towards attaining maximum attempts, it’s assumed that your accuracy levels will be lower. But since there are more marks for a correct answer than negative for an incorrect answer, if you can beat the odds sufficiently, this will work in your favour.

(Attempting 24 and getting 12 wrong leaves you with a net score of 44. on the contrary if you are choosy and do only 14 questions, and get 10 right you score 39)

Similar calculations can yield similarly better answers for each strategy. What will work best for you can be decided by only one person – you. But you will need to make an effort, after all getting it right means making it to the IIMs, so I guess it sense to put in that bit of work.